Process of making rubber footwear.



.No. 848,807. PATENTEDAPR. 2; 1907.

' M. 0. CLARK.

/ PROCESS OF MAKING RUBBER FOOTWEAR. :APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 20, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES Mfg/HUB A TTOHNE VS 'PATENT'ED APR. 2, 1907.

M. G. CLARK. PROCESS OF MAKING RUBBER FOOTWEAR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 20, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR f 4 %7 ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

' MAURICE C. CLARK, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO RUBBERCOMPANY, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

PROCESS OF MAKING RUBBER FOOTWEAR.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 20,1906. Serial No. 322,530.

Patented A ril 2, 1907.

To all whom it may concern.-

. Making Rubber Footwear, of which the following is a specification.

,The present invention relates to .a. certain novel and usefulimprovement in the process ,of manufacturing rubber footwear.

In the manufacture of rubber footwear by the usual method all the piecesemployed pieceor sheet.

,of the fabric is rendered practically Worth- ,scrap.

except the, upperand outsole are generally composed of some kind oftextile material which has been coated with a rubber com-' pound, eitheron one or both sides, by process commonly termed -calendering, which,

as is well known, consists in applying the waterproof material to thesurface of the fabric while passing the same in sheets through suitable.calendering-machines. The piece is then cut into the necessary. sectionsand of the right shape and size to conform and lit the last employed inmaking up the article. In cuttin up the whole piece of rubber-coatedfabric into the required shapes it will be evident that there must beconsiderable waste of material, and this waste, which in many instancesis discarded, is commonly termed In the manufacture of certain kinds offootwear this scrap amounts to as much as forty or fifty per cent. ofthe original In addition to the loss .or waste of the clotlialone therubber compound less, and the loss is therefore very great in proportionto the total value of the completed article. Furthermore, in theordinary method of making rubber footwear the pieces usually joinedtogether to form the completed article. are the insole, the lining,

the filllllg-SOll-i, the upper, and outsole and such addltional piecesas may be considered necessary and desirable to strengthen certain partsor to give durability and rigidity to the article, such pieces beingusually counterpieces, rag soles, joinin -strips, and the like. Themaker first puts t e rubber-coated insole upon the last and then therubbercoated lining, which is lapped over the edge of the insole, justunder the latter, and entirely around the shoe and is united to thisinsole by a rubber cement, the latter being pressed by the use of ahand-roller. Over this joint there is then placed a strip of clothfrictioned with a rubber compound which is rolled by the makertostrengthen the article at this point. A strip of rubber-frictionedcloth is also used to join the linin together at the back of the heel.Over this rubbercoated lining is then placed a sheet of rubber compoundto form the upper and which is united to the plastic rubber com oundforming the lining coating and c-arefu y rolled by the maker. Ahalf-solecomposed of cloth frictioned with rubber compound is usuallyput on, covering the entire bottom of the shoe except at the extremeedge; outsole of rubber compound is placed on the Then the bottom of theshoe and carefully rolled down to cause it to pro erly unite with theupper and half-sole. this work must be very carefully done, and therubber compound must be in a substantially plastic state in order tounite, for as the pieces forming the shoe are necessarily stretched moreor less out of their naturalposition when the article is placed in thevulcanizing-oven and heated the-pieces are inclined to separate and formweak places in the shoe, as there is no mechanical pressure applied tohold the article a ainst the last or'support; but by the emplbyment ofmy invention I find that a great saving of labor can be had and also asubstantial saving in the amount of fabric and rubber compound necessaryto make up the which will assist in understanding the invention.

Figure 1 is a conventional view in perspective, showing the lining madeup into a stocking and to which the rubber compound is adapted to beapplied. Fig. 2 is a conventional view showing a transverse verticalsection of a mold and the shoe therein and showing one means of applyingpressure in the vulcanizing of the article. Big. 3 is a top plan view ofa last having the lining or stocking .HP in thismanner, it islaced in ansuitable mold, such as indicate at D, and t e steamvenient means, sothat the'p'roce'ss of vulcan+ fect union and the entire waterproofcoating described I cut" oma sheet of plain uncalsewall these piecest.ogether, so that a com- .the fabric which is-uponfthelast'. In theagainst the same on the outside the now soft a great saving in the costof the article.

thereon and also indicating a section or sheet of rubber compoundapplied thereto, the stem or post of the last being shown in section.Fig.- 4 is across-sectional View taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3, suchview also showing the rubber compound applied to the stocking or lining.

In carrying-out my invention instead of coating the fabric in thezlargesheet with a rubber compound,;calen'dering same, and in general followin'ou'tt'he method heretofore endered fabric the necessary pieces requiredfor the lining, the. insole, and the like and plete lining'or stockinsuch as is show-n at A in Fig. 1 results This isthen placed upon thelast, which is indicated at I then cut from plain sheets of rubbercompound the pro er shaped pieces required for the upper an sole of thearticle, and these pieces of sheeted', rubber compoundgi'are placed overdrawings, B indicates the piece of rubber compound,-- fWhen {the shoehas been built chambers of'the mold are-heated by 'anyconizinglthe shoetakes-place. Withthe last forming a'substantial supportat the inside ofthe shoe and the heated molds pressing or plastic compound is forcedinto the pores of the lining, and the molding and vulcanization of theshoe is completed. After the shoe has been in the mold a suflicicntlength of time to be completely shaped or molded it is removed therefromand the shoe taken from the last in the form of a substantially finishedarticle, all the pieces forming a perbeing homogeneous.

The scrap-rubber compound left over after the sections have been cuttherefrom can be used over again by calendering the same into sheets,therefore making absolutely no Waste of the rubber compound and securingAs has been heretofore stated, in the ordinary method of making footwearthe pieces Where joined together are liable to separate in j the processof vulcanizing, and to prevent this pieces of cloth covered with rubbercompound, either coated or frictioned onto it, are used to strengthenthe joined places, such as joining-strips, piping-strips, and the like.I

I exceedin large percentage of rubber compound in cutting to propershapes required.

I believe myself to be the first to manufacture the waterproofarticlesuch, for instance, as has been described-by cutting from theuntreated textile material the necessary pieces of proper shape to formthe lining,

.uniting the pieces, placing the article in this form uponfa support,then placing thereon a sheet of unvulcanizedrubber compound of requiredthickness, and then applying pressure to'the article so built u to forcethe compound directly into the fabric forming the'lining, so that thecompleted finished shoe is produced.. Further, I wish it to beunderstood-that I do not limit myself in this invention to footwe'ar, asthe invention is applicable to the maufacture of'other articles withoutdepartingfrom the spirit thereof or the scope of the claims.

What Iclaim is 1. The process of making rubber footwear which consistsin. uniting pieces of uncoated textile material to form a stocking orlining for the shoe, applying to the outer surface of this lining piecesof rubber compound and subjecting the article so built upto pressurebetweenopposing surfaces to vulcauizc the compound and force part of thesame into the.

pores of the lining.

2. 'The rocess of manufacturing rubber footwear w ich consists inapplying to a complete lining or stocking pieces of unvulcanized rubbercompound, and subjecting the article so built up to pressure betweenopposing surfaces, certain of which are heated, to

vulcanize the compound andforce the same into the pores of the liningand simultaneously mold the complete article.

MAURICE c. CLARK.

Witnesses RICHARD B. CAVANAGH, W. A. PAULING.

